Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning to you all. My questioning is on the same theme—financial planning—but is about sustainability. Before I get to my first main question, I wonder what the legacy of Covid is. I think that we are still recovering. I have a simple question: are we still recovering from the global pandemic?

Is there anything that we should be doing on multiyear funding commitments? That issue comes up a lot in evidence. Can IJBs do anything to support sustainable planning as we move forward?

I have one final question. In your submission, Professor Bell, you talk about the NHS and how funding for boards varies widely. You say that that

“is difficult to explain in relation to markers such as deprivation or rurality.”

Dumfries and Galloway IJB is 79.4 per cent funded by the NHS, for example, whereas the figure for the north-east—Aberdeenshire—is 53.9 per cent. Can you explain why there is such variation in how the IJBs are funded?

Good morning. I asked the previous panel about recovery from Covid, as we are still recovering from a global pandemic. I am interested to know, for instance, about the on-going financial costs of dealing with post-pandemic vaccinations and long-term care, which were unanticipated prior to the pandemic. Has the pandemic had an impact on on-going planning for finances? How has that impacted ye?

I am looking at you to answer first, Sharon, because your heid is up.

I am just thinking about the 79.4 per cent of NHS funding that goes towards integration in Dumfries and Galloway. That is a big pot of money and already represents a big chunk of what they are doing.

Can I ask another wee quick question? I am thinking about areas that have wild salmon, such as the rivers that feed into the Solway Firth. Galloway Fisheries Trust manages a lot of the research around there. There are no wild salmon farms in the Solway or near the River Tweed, but research is being conducted to look at salmon in those rivers. Would such research help to inform what is happening to wild salmon in other areas? I know that there are issues with fish farms and wild salmon, but there is research to look at salmon outside of where the west coast fish farms are.

It has been very interesting to hear everybody’s questions so far. Recommendation 41 from the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee is that a precautionary approach should be taken to the siting of salmon farms to avoid wild salmon migratory routes. We have already talked a little bit about those migratory routes, but does the siting of new farms since 2018 indicate that a precautionary approach has been adopted? Have you seen any sites close to migratory routes?

As a bit of a segue, I know that what Norway is doing with research and development on the siting of pens is not the answer to everything, but I have been reading about these giant ships—big hulls that are floating fish farms—that can be sited in areas of deep water and can resist storms and high waves. Should we be thinking about that emerging technology instead of net pens that are fixed to the sea bed?

Good morning. The salmon interactions working group report identified the importance of the sectors developing a

“professional and collaborative working relationship”.

It also recommended the development of local engagement mechanisms between fin-fish farmers and wild fisheries management. What progress has been made on those points?

Are you able to identify what is working well in the areas in which it is working well, so that we can transfer that approach to areas where it is not working well?